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Exclusive! The View's singing star, Von Smith

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Amid all the uproar over Antonella Barba, her sexy photos and the likely sex-act photo set-up, an actual young singing star was born on television this morning on The View. Twenty-year-old Von Lee Smith was featured after he won attention on YouTube for a clip in which he sings "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"-- a tune usually associated with female singers, and the one that got Idol reject Jennifer Hudson an Oscar®.

Von brought down the house with his wild rendition this morning. Rosie was all over him, telling him he was better than anyone on Idol-- and he's bound to become the new Sam Harris (look him up). So why do we care?

Because this past summer, we were in Kansas City when we stopped in to sample the local culture at the Isle of Capri casino. It was there, tucked away, upstairs in a tiny lounge, that a young man fronted a trio of jazz vets. He was a good singer, we thought. Too good for the room. We snapped a few pictures in case he wound up on Idol, which is where it sounded like he belonged.

He didn't show up on Idol, and after he didn't-- we deleted some of the photos. But we kept a few, so you can see Von Lee Smith before he was a TV star... and check out that Youtube video... after the jump...

Click here to see Von's YouTube sensation.

This is Von this summer in Kansas City:

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See more exclusive Von Lee Smith pictures here, too.

And what the heck, keep up with the latest Antonella snaps here (and they're NSFW!).

--Tabloid Baby®

Posted in American Idol , The View by Tabloid Baby at 12:45 PM | | Comments (4)
Last Comment: Shelley on May 11, 2007 03:18 PM.

Comments (4)

Smoke_Rulz [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Ick. He's definitely got a voice, a loud one at that, but he sounds like a total tard singing that song. And a woman. I don't like him. :D But good job getting an earlier scoop on him. I only wish you kept all of them.

1 of 4 | Posted by Smoke_Rulz [TypeKey Profile Page] | Posted on February 27, 2007 10:16 PM

JTContinental [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Hmmm...he didn't sound all that great to me, either. He could carry a tune, but there was something all fake and icky about him.

2 of 4 | Posted by JTContinental [TypeKey Profile Page] | Posted on February 28, 2007 12:57 PM

Chris:

Umm yeh pretty much I love this kid lol I don't know about these two previous comments but I think he is one of the only singers out there that actually connect to their music. I don't think he's fake at all, he has his own style that no one else can say they have. He has amazing range and can hit the highest and lowest notes with the purest of tone. I think this kid is incredible.

3 of 4 | Posted by Chris | Posted on April 27, 2007 7:44 PM

Shelley:

I think Von Lee Smith is one of the BEST singers I have ever heard!! When I heard him on youtube and then on Rosie, I couldn't wait to tell everyone I know about him! HE IS TOTALLY AMAZING!!!

4 of 4 | Posted by Shelley | Posted on May 11, 2007 3:18 PM

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